On Friday, 23 May, AIT received Professor Pierre Lunel, former
President of the University of Paris 8, currently inter-ministerial
delegate to student guidance, and Professor Jacques Gelas, former
President of the National Superior School of Chemistry of
Clermont-Ferrand, currently delegate for international relations of the
Conference of Directors of French Engineering Schools, both members of
a mission nominated by the French Government to study international
student mobility. Mr. Lionel Simeon, Chargé de Mission, Scientific and
Higher Education Cooperation from the Embassy of France to
meeting were Dr. Pritam K. Shrestha, Head of ERCO, Mr. Benjamin
Gargabite, Coordinator for admissions and scholarships and Mr. Jean-
Philippe Thouard, AIT-French cooperation coordinator.
The purpose of the mission was to learn AIT’s experience with
student mobility to and from French institutions. With several
successful and active dual degree master programmes, student exchange
programmes and jointly supervised doctoral study schemes and several
hundred students exchanged in both directions, AIT has in the past
decade accumulated a vast experience in student mobility operations
with
students through the added international exposure they gain through
them, and to AIT via the added diversity that French students provide
and through the marketing value added to our programmes through the
possibility to include a stay in France and in many case to gain simultaneously a
second degree. For French institutions, AIT is a source of very good
quality students and a very good gateway to reach students from the
whole Asian region. AIT further discussed the possibility to develop
those mobility programmes quantitatively or qualitatively in a
continued spirit of mutual benefit.
AIT also proposed that one way to increase the mobility of Asian
students to
French faculty and experts to AIT, wherein mobility can be promoted
through their interactions with the students while at AIT.